Tag: salmonella

Things have been pretty quiet on the US of A lately, the tomato-pepper salmonella outbreak seems to be wrapping up although there is still lots of finger-pointing and grumbling about the investigation.

There is a minor recall in the Northwest involving alfalfa sprouts grown by Sprouters Northwest of Oregon. The sprouts have been linked with a small outbreak of salmonellosis. This is the company’s second experience with salmonella contamination, having a similar sized outbreak tied to their product in 2004.

Salmonella in sprouts has been a long running concern among sprout growers. I can recall several times over the last 10 years when sprouts were not available due to regional outbreaks. If you’ve ever tried to grow your own sprouts, you might understand why contamination is so easy. According to this do-it-yourself guide, you grown your seeds in to sprouts in a warm, moist enclosed jar. Sprouts love it and so do bacteria. On a larger, commercial scale, take that jar and turn it in to a giant drum, about the size of an oil drum. You have to run cold water over the sprouts periodically to wash away any bacteria. Bacteria are tenacious and even one of two missed organisms will sit around and procreate while you wait to eat your sprouts. If you have ever bought sprouts from the store and tried to wash them, you know its not the easiest process. I’m betting a lot of people skip the home-washing step.

Way back in 1999, the FDA was issuing advisories about all sprouts (not just alfalfa) after a number of outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli 0157H7 dating back to 1995. One of their suggestions was to cook the sprouts which doesn’t sound so appetizing but maybe a quick steam would be alright. In 2002, the USDA Agricultural Research Service conducting a study on the effect on nutritional values if sprout seeds were dosed with a low level of radiation. The study …

Results showed percent germination of the seeds and the rates of growth of the sprouts were inversely related to the radiation dose absorbed by the seeds. Both antioxidant capacity and AA content expressed on a fresh weight basis decreased during growth of the sprouts. Sprouts grown from irradiated seeds had greater antioxidant capacity and AA content on a fresh weight basis than those grown from non-irradiated seeds. However, when the nutritive values were expressed on a per gram seed basis, irradiation had no effect on the nutritive values of sprouts.

The study was published in 2002 but it was the year 2000 when the FDA approved irradiation of seeds meant for sprouts, as a method to reduce contamination by pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella. In a previous post, I mentioned that irradiated foods must be marked as such. And that is true but the rules are quite so cut and dried as you might think.

* Plant foods sold in their whole form in a package (e.g., a bag of wheat flour or oranges). radura
* Fresh whole fruits and vegetables. (on the fruit, the box or a display)
* Whole meat and poultry in a package (like chicken breasts).
* Unpackaged meat and poultry (like from a butcher) (display label).
* Irradiated meat and poultry that are part of another packaged food (like irradiated chicken in a frozen chicken potpie).

Consumers will NOT see the wording or radura for:

* Multiple ingredient products where some, but not all of the individual ingredients were irradiated.
* Irradiated ingredients in foods prepared or served by restaurants, salad bars, hotels, airlines, hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc.
* Irradiated foods prepared by delis or supermarket take-out counters.
* Spices and herb teas
* Sprouts grown from irradiated seeds
* Ingredients in supplements
* Plant-food ingredients that are processed again (like apples in applesauce or papaya in a salad-bar salad).

FYI, This is what the radura looks like:

Meanwhile, its not so peaceful for our Northern Neighbors. First, it was a salmonella outbreak associated with cheese in Quebec. As of September 3, eighty-seven people were confirmed ill with one death reported. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food recalled cheeses made by Fromages La Chaudiere Inc. Meanwhile, eight cheeses from Fromagerie Médard of St. Gédéon and three more from Les Fromagiers de la Table Ronde of Ste. Sophie were recalled after listeria was detected in the cheeses.

Although no infections have yet been specifically tied to the cheeses contaminated with listeria, Canada has been dealing with a separate listeria outbreak, associated with products made by Maple Leaf Foods of Toronto. That outbreak, mostly associated with prepared lunch meats has led to a number of deaths (about 13 according to most recent reports). As a result of the outbreak, the company has closed the plant where the meats were processed. Listeria, while rare, has a much higher rate of mortality at 25% than “run of the mill” salmonella (1% of all salmonella infections). Like all food-borne pathogens, the elderly, the very young and the immune-compromised are at greater risk of serious illness and complications from listeriosis. Listeria infection is also known for inducing early labor in pregnant women.

The interesting thing about the recalls here versus those in Canada is that the Canadian Ministry has the right to force a recall. In the US, the FDA and USDA work with the companies that may be the source of the contaminated food but the government can’t declare a recall, they just issue advisories. Its up the company to issue the recall and they can even pick and choose the parameters of the recall, i.e., the amount of product, the places where it may be found, etc.

Beginning today, producers can begin dosing fresh greens: iceberg lettuce and spinach with a hint of radiation designed to reduce the amount of salmonella, E. Coli and listeria hiding amongst the leafy goodness.

Please note, that is reduce, not 100% eliminate. Growers and packagers are still expected to follow the FDA’s other rules about handling salad mixes and fresh spinach. Consumers (i.e. you) are still encouraged to wash the greens before eating them.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association has been bugging the FDA to allow this treatment since 2000. Testing has shown that a small shot of radiation will reduce the number of bad bugs which may be present while not compromising taste, texture or nutritional value. Because current regulations require that any irradiated food be labeled as such, consumers have generally shied away from purchasing eggs, beef, oysters and spices which have been dosed. Not surprisingly, producers and manufactures aren’t real pleased about that so now the lobbyist groups can start pushing the FDA to relax that rule, something that is already being considered.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest points out that irradiation has zero effect on viruses, a growing issue in food safety circles. Thus far, there have been no conclusive studies which show irradiation creates toxic food or off flavors. The FDA would like you to know that it can actually increase shelf life.

The amount of radiation is quite small, just enough to kill off most of the salmonella and some of the other germs without wilting the spinach. For me, I will probably skip this stuff. I’m sure it will cost more (or maybe less, at first, to entice people in to buying it). I’m not that scared of spinach and I don’t want to encourage these guys to start zapping all kind of fruits and vegetables (the original goal of the GMA was far more encompassing).

Just remember this: salmonella and E. Coli don’t originate in plants. These bugs have animal homes including humans, by nature. If you really want to keep your produce clean of bacteria, you need to be aware of how the greens are fertilized and watered and what animals the fields are exposed to. The E. Coli spinach outbreak was traced to wild hogs that wandered through the California farms growing all that organic spinach. The recent salmonella outbreak while associated with peppers and tomatoes was likely spread to those plants by contaminated irrigation systems.

I buy mixed field greens and spinach in those plastic clamshells from Meijer or Kroger or Horrocks. Its usually Earthbound Farms but I’m not making a endorsement for any particular brand. The reality is, this stuff is often bagged or boxed in some far off place, shipped in a refrigerated unit to my local store and could be several days or even weeks old by the time it shows up on its shelf. I only buy organic and this radiation treatment is not allowed under the USDA’s Organic Guidelines. If you find someplace selling mixed greens by the pound in open bins, its probably fresher and more likely locally sourced.

If you are really feeling ambitious, grow your own! Its actually quite easy with a long narrow planter and a nice windowsill that gets some sun. Baby lettuces are a cold-weather crop that only require medium sun exposure so you can keep growing them well in to the fall outdoors or year round in a window. They are also ideal for progressive planting. Start a selection of seeds in 1/3 of your planter. About 1-2 weeks later, start a second planting in the next 1/3 and finally, round 3 another 2 weeks later. By then you will probbaly be harvesting your first round and the whole thing starts over. You can buy individual seed packets to make your own custom mesclun mix or even a pre-mixed packet with popular varieties of lettuces and herbs.

I’m planning to do my own version of mesclun using my aerogrow after we get back from vacation. I’d do the window planter thing but 2 cats+ a bucket of dirt equals a really big mess. Speaking from experience on that one!

Chris and I are going on a vacation to the Georgian Bay area of Ontario. I’m hoping to get some posts done and prepped to just publish while I’m gone but I’m not hopeful. Tonight we are “roughing” it in a hotel but then we’ll be tent camping till Thursday. Although I guess its possible that the park will have wi-fi. Anyhow, I’ll have some good adventures to talk about when I get back.

The U.S. Agriculture Department on Friday said Omaha meat packing company Nebraska Beef Ltd is recalling 1.2 million pounds of beef because it may be contaminated with a particularly dangerous strain of E. coli.

The recall is of beef prepared for shipment to retailers but not yet cut up in supermarket sized portions.

The recall is “Class 1,” meaning there is a “reasonable probability” that eating the beef “will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death,” the USDA said. It is the most dangerous level of the three classes of recall.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said the beef was sent to processing establishments and retail stores across the United States and had been produced June 17, June 24 and July 8.

How likely is that the beef involved is still sitting in processing establishments and retail stores waiting to get broken down in to smaller packages for the consumer? In case you missed it, Nebraska Beef had a massive ground beef recall earlier this year. And the company has had some major compliance issues with USDA inspections over the last several years.

Whole Foods Market, the top US organic foods supermarket chain, announced this weekend a voluntary recall of fresh ground beef it sold since June 2 due to potential contamination with E. coli bacteria.
The beef “apparently came from Coleman Natural Beef, whose Nebraska Beef processing plant was previously subject to a nationwide recall for E. coli 0157:H7 contamination,” Whole Foods said.

According to Whole Foods, they didn’t know that Coleman was sending their beef to Nebrask Beef for processing.

In a smaller recall, S&S Foods of California is recalling ground meat after a boy scout camp experienced an outbreak of E. coli.

S&S Foods of Azusa, Calif., is recalling 30-pound boxes of ground beef that went to distribution centers in Milwaukee and Allentown, Pa. The company is acting on the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, agency spokeswoman Laura Reiser said yesterday.

The meat was intended for food service companies and institutions and was not being sold in stores, Reiser said. The Agriculture Department would not say where the beef might have gone, she said. “From a public health standpoint, that’s not going to help the consumer or the doctor to treat their illness,” she said.

Not in to E. Coli, how about some salmonella? A recent outbreak in the UK has affected approximately 90 people with at least one death. The investigation there has found a possible source in Dawn Farm Foods in Ireland. The meat was sold to Subway stores. This outbreaks is notable in that the average age of the people sickened is just 29. The strain linked to this outbreak, salmonella agona is rare, accounting for approximately 1.5% of salmonella infections.

Don’t forget the pets!Mars Petcare US announced a voluntary recall of 100 of the 20-pound bags of PEDIGREE(R) Complete Nutrition Small Crunchy Bites sold in Southern California and Las Vegas, Nevada to a limited number of Albertsons locations due to potential Salmonella contamination.

During the height of the tomato/pepper/cilantro/salsa/something from Mexico Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak, there were news reports of an isolated poisioning by salmonella in Lake Garda, Italy. Approximately 30 people, mostly British tourists fell ill while on vacation at a hotel is this area. The onset of illness was very quick and one man died within 24 hours. An autopsy was carried out and eventually, the owner of the hotel was charged with manslaughter. Since early July, I haven’t been able to find any English-language updates to this story so I don’t know the current status of the hotel manager’s case or what the final determination for the source or type of infection. I was quite surprised to learn that the Italian authorities had charged the owner with such a serious crime. I guess here in America we just sue the pants of whomever has the deep pockets (i.e. Wal-Mart is the first to be named defendant after the outbreak here).

By the way, the Mexican authorities are rather insistent that their own testing has not found a positive pepper in conflict with the FDA’s claims that they found 1 pepper on a farm in Tamaulipas state that had the same salmonella which caused the S. saintpaul outbreak.
However, Agricola Zaragoza, the distribution center that provided the first real pepper clue, is recalling peppers distributed between June 30 and July 21 (the date of the press release) due to a possible contamination with Salmonella Saintpaul:

The jalapeno peppers were distributed to customers in GA and TX. The jalapeno peppers being recalled were shipped in 35-lb plastic crates and in 50-lb bags with no brand name or label.

The recall is a result of sampling by FDA, which revealed that these jalapeno peppers were contaminated with the same strain of Salmonella Saintpaul responsible for the current Salmonella outbreak. It is unknown at this time which, if any, of the more than 1,200 illnesses reported to date are related to this particular product or to the grower who supplied this product.

The agency has found, for example, that tomatoes from Mexico have been shipped to Florida, repacked and sold with tomatoes from Florida. Similarly, tomatoes from the United States are sent to Mexico, where they are repacked and shipped to the United States as a product of the United States.

I added the underline. This just doesn’t seem right.

Current sickness toll is up to 810. I’ve had tomatoes on my sandwiches or salads a couple times this week. Its a little early for most tomatoes grown in Michigan but I’m sure they are available to local-focused restaurants. Fazoli’s last night? Who knows where those came from.

If “cleared tomatoes” are mixed with still under suspicion tomatoes, the outbreak can continue.

Further fostering confidence in the FDA and CDC are reports that the agencies are starting to look at other sources for the salmonella outbreak. The comment from one “tomatoes are eaten with a lot of other things.”